List of Carlisle United F.C. seasons explained

Carlisle United Football Club is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.

History

League

The club was formed on 17 May 1904 at Shaddongate United's annual general meeting^[1] where the club's members voted to change the team's name to Carlisle United. The newly formed club initially played at Milhome Bank and later at Devonshire Park, finally settling at their current home Brunton Park in 1909.

In 1905, Carlisle United joined the Lancashire Combination but were only admitted after agreeing to pay all visiting teams’ travel expenses for two years, due to Carlisle not being located in Lancashire. After the league reorganised four years later the board at United decided it did not suit the club's best interests to be there any longer and the club entered the North Eastern League in place of their reserve team who had previously played in the league and been a founding member. When the Carlisle United first team left to join the Football League the reserve team resumed its place in the competition.^[2] Carlisle United were crowned champions of the North Eastern League in 1922.

The 1927–28 season was Carlisle's last in the North Eastern League. The close season meant the usual round of applications to join (and be re-elected to) the Football League. Carlisle received the second-most votes with 33, and replaced Durham City, who had received just 11 votes, as members of the Football League.

Carlisle were members of the Third Division North until 1958 when it combined with the Third Division South to become the Fourth Division. They remained there until 1962 when they won their first promotion, they were relegated the following season but immediately bounced back to begin the most prosperous period in the club's history.

Upon gaining promotion to the Third Division in 1964 United immediately won the Third Division Championship the following year. Over twelve years the club cemented themselves as a solid Second Division (Then 2nd Tier in English football) side. Within that period Carlisle finished 7 out of 11 seasons in the top half of the table including 3rd in 66/67, 4th in 70/71 and a 3rd in 73/74 which saw them promoted to the top tier of English football.

Carlisle won their first three fixtures in the First Division to go top of the English football pyramid. The success was short lived however, they finished the season in bottom place and were relegated. Highlight victories include doing a double over Everton, and home victories over eventual champions Derby County, and former title holders Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Carlisle ended their most prosperous period as rapidly as it had started. Back to back relegations in 1986 and 1987 saw them enter the Fourth Division for the first time in 21 years. Their first season in there saw them finish second from bottom but 19 points ahead of relegated Newport County. The lull in league performance continued. A promotion push in 1990 was thwarted by a last match defeat to Maidstone United.

Some good then came of a new owner in the form of Michael Knighton whose financial input helped the club steer clear of relegation in 92/93 gain two promotions in 95, 97 to the second division (now 3rd tier) and gain success in the Football League Trophy. Unfortunately the promotions were immediately followed by relegations in 96 and 98 respectively.

In the 1998–99 season Carlisle found themselves in their second successive relegation battle and needing to gain three points from the final game of the season at home to Plymouth Argyle. At 90 minutes the crowd at Scarborough (Carlisle's relegation rival) were already celebrating before the fourth official stated four minutes of extra time would be played at Brunton Park. In the last kick of the game goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, who had signed in an emergency loan deal from Swindon Town after the transfer deadline, scored from a corner kick which he came up to in a last gasp effort to win the match.^[3]

In the following years Carlisle continued to narrowly avoid relegation one season after the other. From the 97/98 season through to 03/04 the club only once finished above 22nd in the English fourth tier. The bullet dodging did eventually cease however when in 2004 they lost Football league status for the first time since 1928, becoming the first former top flight club to fall into the fifth tier.

Carlisle were promoted out of the non-league at the first time of asking in 2005, winning the play-off final at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke. Carlisle's excellent form under manager Paul Simpson continued into the following season as they returned to the Football League with a bang, clinching the League Two title. Simpson then departed for Preston North End, and was succeeded by Neil McDonald. The following few seasons saw Carlisle achieve their highest league finishes for 22 years and the highest average crowds for 30 years. This coincided with several seasons at the top half of League One including a playoff finish in 2008.

Football League Trophy

Since its inception Carlisle have competed in almost every season of the Football League Trophy, including in 2004–05 when they did not hold Football League status. In total they have reached the final six times, more than any other team. The club first won the competition in 1997, beating Colchester United. The game, which took place at Wembley Stadium, was drawn 0–0 in 90 minutes and continued to a penalty shoot-out. Thanks to Tony Caig's heroics in goal Carlisle won the shoot-out 4–3. The second win came in 2011, a year after suffering a 4–1 defeat to Southampton in the previous final. This time Carlisle were able to defeat Brentford by a single goal.^[4]

Key

Key to league record

Level = Level of the league in the current league system
Pld = Games played
W = Games won
D = Games drawn
L = Games lost
GF = Goals for
GA = Goals against
GD = Goals difference
Pts = Points
Position = Position in the final league table
Top scorer and number of goals scored shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division. Number of goals includes goals scored in play-offs.

Key to cup records

Res = Final reached round
Rec = Final club record in the form of wins-draws-losses
PR = Preliminary round
QR1 (2, etc.) = Qualifying Cup rounds
G = Group stage
R1 (2, etc.) = Proper Cup rounds
QF = Quarter-finalists
SF = Semi-finalists
F = Finalists
A (QF, SF, F) = Area quarter-, semi-, finalists
W = Winners

Seasons

Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Leading league scorer^[5]		FA Cup		FL Cup FA Trophy		FL Trophy		Average home attendance^[6] ^[7]
Year	League	Name	Goals	Res	Rec	Res	Rec	Res	Rec		Position									Average home attendance^[6] ^[7]
1904–05														QR1	0-1-1
1905–06	Lancashire Combination Division Two		36	14	6	16	70	73	-3	34	13th of 19			QR2	1-1-1
1906–07	Lancashire Combination Division Two		38	23	10	5	113	46	+67	56	1st of 20 Promoted			QR4	3-0-1
1907–08	Lancashire Combination Division One		38	23	8	7	79	55	+24	54	2nd of 20			R2	7-1-1
1908–09			38	18	8	12	79	70	+9	44	6th of 20			R1	1-2-1
1909–10			38	14	11	13	69	60	+9	39	7th of 20			R1	2-2-1
Quit from the Lancashire Combination and replaced reserve team in the North Eastern League.
1910–11	North Eastern League		34	8	8	18	44	76	-32	24	15th of 18			QR5	1-1-1
1911–12			36	7	6	23	37	98	-61	20	17th of 19			QR4	0-0-1
1912–13			38	12	5	21	61	98	-37	29	14th of 20			QR4	0-0-1
1913–14			38	11	10	17	48	84	-36	32	13th of 20			QR5	4-1-1
1914–15			38	8	7	23	50	108	-58	23	17th of 20			QR3	2-0-1
No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the World War I.
1919–20	North Eastern League		34	12	3	19	47	76	-29	27	13th of 18			QR5	4-1-1
1920–21			38	18	10	10	79	46	+33	46	6th of 20			QR2	2-1-0
1921–22			38	24	8	6	85	39	+46	56	1st of 20			QR4	4-1-1
1922–23			38	19	8	11	56	43	+13	46	6th of 20			QR6	2-1-1
1923–24			38	13	8	17	46	61	-15	34	11th of 20			QR5	1-0-1
1924–25			38	16	6	16	67	63	+4	38	11th of 20			QR4	3-0-1
1925–26			38	19	9	10	83	76	+7	47	5th of 20			R1	1-0-1
1926–27			38	23	3	12	106	75	+31	49	5th of 20			R3	3-0-1
1927–28			38	25	5	8	111	61	+50	55	2nd of 20			R2	2-0-1
Elected to the Football League replacing Durham City.
1928–29	Football League Third Division North	3	42	19	8	15	86	77	+9	46	8th of 22	Jimmy McConnell	42	R2	1-0-1					7,796
1929–30			42	16	7	19	90	101	-11	39	15th of 22			R3	2-0-1					6,060
1930–31			42	20	5	17	98	81	+17	45	8th of 22	Jimmy McConnell	37	R3	2-0-1					5,838
1931–32			40	11	11	18	64	79	-15	33	18th of 21			R2	1-0-1					4,689
1932–33			42	13	7	22	51	75	-24	33	19th of 22			R2	1-1-1					5,210
1933–34			42	15	8	19	66	81	-15	38	13th of 22			R2	1-0-1					4,452
1934–35			42	8	7	27	51	102	-51	23	22nd of 22			R1	0-0-1					4,063
1935–36			42	14	12	16	56	62	-6	40	13th of 22			R1	0-0-1					6,481
1936–37			42	18	8	16	65	68	-3	44	10th of 22			R3	2-0-1					6,488
1937–38			42	15	9	18	57	67	-10	39	12th of 22			R1	0-0-1					6,408
1938–39			42	13	7	22	66	111	-45	33	19th of 22	Wally Hunt	32	R1	0-0-1					4,996
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the World War II.
1945–46														R2	2-0-2
1946–47	Football League Third Division North	3	42	14	9	19	70	93	-23	37	16th of 22			R3	2-0-1					10,263
1947–48			42	18	7	17	88	77	+11	43	9th of 22			R1	0-0-1					13,128
1948–49			42	14	11	17	60	77	-17	39	15th of 22			R1	0-0-0					11,129
1949–50			42	16	15	11	68	51	+17	47	9th of 22			R3	2-0-1					11,800
1950–51			46	25	12	9	79	50	+29	62	3rd of 24			R3	2-1-1					11,696
1951–52			46	19	13	14	62	57	+5	51	7th of 24			R1	0-0-1					10,100
1952–53			46	18	13	15	82	68	+14	49	9th of 24	Jimmy Whitehouse	29	R1	0-0-1					8,103
1953–54			46	14	15	17	83	71	+12	43	13th of 24	Alan Ashman	32	R1	0-0-1					6,955
1954–55			46	15	6	25	78	89	-11	36	20th of 24			R2	1-1-1					5,619
1955–56			46	15	8	23	71	95	-24	38	21st of 24			R1	0-2-1					6,894
1956–57			46	16	13	17	76	85	-9	45	15th of 24			R3	2-1-1					7,430
1957–58			46	19	6	21	80	78	+2	44	16th of 24	Alf Ackerman	35	R2	1-1-1					8,525
Regional Third divisions merged creating nationwide Third Division and Fourth Division. Club has not qualified to join Third Division.
1958–59	Football League Fourth Division	4	46	19	12	15	62	65	-3	50	10th of 24			R2	1-1-1					7,172
1959–60			46	15	11	20	51	66	-15	41	19th of 24			R1	0-0-1					5,308
1960–61			46	13	13	20	61	79	-18	39	19th of 24			R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1			4,446
1961–62			44	22	8	14	64	63	+1	52	4th of 23 Promoted			R3	2-0-1	R1	0-1-1			6,664
1962–63	Football League Third Division	3	46	13	9	24	61	89	-18	35	23rd of 24 Relegated			R3	2-0-1	R3	2-1-1			5,699
1963–64	Football League Fourth Division	4	46	25	10	11	113	58	+55	60	2nd of 24 Promoted	Hughie McIlmoyle	39	R5	4-0-1	R2	1-0-1			8,346
1964–65	Football League Third Division	3	46	25	10	11	76	53	+23	60	1st of 24 Promoted			R1	0-0-1	R3	2-1-1			10,789
1965–66	Football League Second Division	2	42	17	5	20	60	63	-3	39	14th of 22			R4	1-2-1	R2	0-0-1			12,067
1966–67			42	23	6	13	71	54	+17	52	3rd of 22			R4	1-0-1	QF	3-2-1			11,201
1967–68			42	14	13	15	58	52	+6	41	10th of 22			R4	1-0-1	R2	0-0-1			10,414
1968–69			42	16	10	16	46	49	-3	42	12th of 22			R3	0-0-1	R3	1-0-1			9,212
1969–70			42	14	13	15	58	56	+2	41	12th of 22			R5	2-2-1	SF	5-1-1			9,388
1970–71			42	20	13	9	65	43	+22	53	4th of 22			R4	1-0-1	R4	2-0-1			10,657
1971–72			42	17	9	16	61	57	+4	43	10th of 22			R3	0-1-1	R3	1-0-1			9,479
1972–73			42	11	12	19	50	52	-2	34	18th of 22			R5	2-2-1	R2	0-1-1			7,606
1973–74			42	20	9	13	61	48	+13	49	3rd of 22 Promoted			R4	1-2-1	R3	2-1-1			8,270
1974–75	Football League First Division	1	42	12	5	25	43	59	-16	29	22nd of 22 Relegated			QF	3-0-1	R3	1-0-1			14,530
1975–76	Football League Second Division	2	42	12	13	17	45	59	-14	37	19th of 22			R3	0-0-1	R3	1-0-1			8,279
1976–77	Football League Second Division	2	42	11	12	19	49	75	-26	34	20th of 22 Relegated			R4	1-0-1	R2	2-0-2			7,680
1977–78	Football League Third Division	3	46	14	19	13	59	59	0	47	13th of 24			R3	2-1-1	R1	0-2-1			5,319
1978–79			46	15	22	9	53	42	+11	52	6th of 24			R3	2-0-1	R1	0-1-1			5,204
1979–80			46	18	12	16	66	56	+10	48	6th of 24			R4	3-2-1	R1	0-1-1			4,406
1980–81			46	14	13	19	56	70	-14	41	19th of 24			R4	3-3-1	R2	1-1-2			4,064
1981–82			46	23	11	12	65	50	+15	80	2nd of 24 Promoted			R3	2-1-1	R2	1-2-1			4,409
1982–83	Football League Second Division	2	42	12	12	18	68	70	-2	48	14th of 22			R3	0-1-1	R1	0-1-1			5,944
1983–84			42	16	16	10	48	41	+7	64	7th of 22			R3	0-1-1	R2	1-0-1			5,611
1984–85			42	13	8	21	50	67	-17	47	16th of 22			R4	1-0-1	R2	0-0-2			4,016
1985–86			42	13	7	22	47	71	-24	46	20th of 22 Relegated			R4	1-0-1	R1	0-1-1			4,010
1986–87	Football League Third Division	3	46	10	8	28	39	78	-39	38	22nd of 24 Relegated			R1	0-1-1	R1	1-0-1	R1	2-0-1	2,644
1987–88	Football League Fourth Division	4	46	12	8	26	57	86	-29	44	23rd of 24			R1	0-0-1	R2	3-0-1	R1	2-0-1	2,236
1988–89			46	15	15	16	53	52	+1	60	12th of 24			R3	2-1-1	R1	0-1-1	G	0-1-1	3,176
1989–90			46	21	8	17	61	60	+1	71	8th of 24			R2	1-0-1	R1	1-0-1	R1	1-1-1	4,740
1990–91			46	13	9	24	47	89	-42	48	20th of 24			R1	0-0-1	R2	1-2-1	G	0-1-1	3,006
1991–92			42	7	13	22	41	67	-26	34	22nd of 22			R1	0-1-1	R1	0-1-1	R1	1-1-1	2,481
Football League divisions renamed after the Premier League creation.
1992–93	Football League Third Division	4	42	11	11	20	51	65	-14	44	18th of 22			R1	0-0-1	R2	1-2-1	G	1-0-1	3,611
1993–94			42	18	10	14	57	42	+15	64	7th of 22			R3	2-1-1	R1	0-1-1	AF	6-0-1	5,524
1994–95			42	27	10	5	67	31	+36	91	1st of 22 Promoted			R3	2-1-1	R2	1-0-3	F	6-0-2	7,422
1995–96	Football League Second Division	3	46	12	13	21	57	72	-15	49	21st of 24 Relegated			R1	0-0-1	R1	1-0-1	AF	3-2-2	5,704
1996–97	Football League Third Division	4	46	24	12	10	67	44	+23	84	3rd of 24 Promoted	Allan Smart	11	R4	3-0-1	R2	2-1-1	W	5-2-0	5,440
1997–98	Football League Second Division	3	46	12	8	26	57	73	-16	44	23rd of 24 Relegated	Ian Stevens	17	R1	0-0-1	R2	2-0-2	AQF	2-0-1	5,381
1998–99	Football League Third Division	4	46	11	16	19	43	53	-10	49	23rd of 24	Ian Stevens	9	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-2	AQF	0-1-1	3,319
1999–2000			46	9	12	25	42	75	-33	39	23rd of 24	Steve Soley	8	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-1-1	ASF	2-0-1	3,192
2000–01			46	11	15	20	42	65	-23	48	22nd of 24	Scott Dobie	11	R3	2-0-1	R1	0-1-1	R1	0-0-1	3,670
2001–02			46	12	16	18	48	56	-8	52	17th of 24	Richie Foran	14	R2	1-1-1	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	3,204
2002–03			46	13	10	23	52	78	-26	49	22nd of 24	Craig Farrell	11	R2	1-1-1	R1	0-0-1	F	4-1-1	4,776
2003–04			46	12	9	25	46	69	-23	45	23rd of 24 Relegated	Craig Farrell Brendan McGill	7	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	AQF	2-0-1	5,617
2004–05	Conference Premier	5	42	20	13	9	74	37	+37	73	3rd of 22	Karl Hawley	13	R2	2-1-1	R5	2-0-1	R2	1-0-1	5,513
2004–05	Conference Premier	5	Promoted through play-offs.											R2	2-1-1	R5	2-0-1	R2	1-0-1	5,513
2005–06	Football League Two	4	46	25	11	10	84	42	+42	86	1st of 24 Promoted	Karl Hawley	22	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	F	3-2-2	7,218
2006–07	Football League One	3	46	19	11	16	54	55	-1	68	8th of 24	Karl Hawley	12	R1	0-0-1	R2	0-1-1	R1	0-1-0	7,907
2007–08			46	23	11	12	64	46	+18	80	4th of 24	Joe Garner Danny Graham	14	R1	0-1-1	R2	1-0-1	AQF	1-0-1	7,835
2007–08			Lost in the play-off semifinal.											R1	0-1-1	R2	1-0-1	AQF	1-0-1	7,835
2008–09			46	12	14	20	56	69	-13	50	20th of 24	Danny Graham	15	R2	1-1-1	R2	1-0-1	R2	0-1-0	6,268
2009–10			46	15	13	18	63	66	-3	58	14th of 24	Ian Harte	16	R3	2-1-1	R3	2-0-1	F	4-1-2	5,210
2010–11			46	16	11	19	60	62	-2	59	12th of 24	James Berrett	10	R3	2-0-1	R1	0-0-1	W	4-1-1	5,207
2011–12			46	18	15	13	65	66	-1	69	8th of 24	Lee Miller	14	R2	1-0-1	R2	0-1-1	R1	0-0-1	5,247
2012–13			46	14	13	19	56	77	-21	55	17th of 24	Lee Miller	9	R2	1-0-1	R3	2-0-1	R1	0-1-0	4,302
2013–14			46	11	12	23	43	76	-33	45	22nd of 24 Relegated	David Amoo	8	R3	2-1-1	R2	0-1-1	AQF	0-1-1	4,243
2014–15	Football League Two	4	46	14	8	24	56	74	-18	50	20th of 24	Kyle Dempsey	10	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	R2	1-1-0	4,376
2015–16			46	17	16	13	67	62	+5	67	10th of 24	Jabo Ibehre	15	R4	2-2-1	R3	2-1-0	R1	0-0-1	4,838
2016–17			46	18	17	11	69	68	+1	71	6th of 24	Charlie Wyke	14	R2	1-0-1	R2	1-1-0	R2	3-0-1	5,114
2016–17			Lost in the play-off semifinal.											R2	1-0-1	R2	1-1-0	R2	3-0-1	5,114
2017–18			46	17	16	13	62	54	+8	67	10th of 24	Jamie Devitt	10	R3	2-2-1	R2	1-0-1	G	1-0-2	4,609
2018–19			46	20	8	18	67	62	+5	68	11th of 24	Hallam Hope	14	R2	1-0-1	R1	0-0-1	GS	1-1-1	4,712
2019–20			37	10	12	15	39	56	-17	42	18th of 24	Harry McKirdy Olufela Olomola Nathan Thomas	5	R3	2-2-1	R2	1-0-1	GS	1-0-2	4,140
2020–21			46	18	12	16	60	51	+9	66	10th of 24	Jon Mellish	11	R2	0-1-1	R1	0-0-1	GS	1-0-2	– ^[8]
2021–22			46	14	11	21	39	62	-23	53	20th of 24	Omari Patrick	9	R2	1-0-1	R1	0-0-1	R3	2-2-1	4,966
2022–23			46	20	16	10	66	43	+23	76	5th of 24	Kristian Dennis	20	R2	1-0-1	R1	0-0-1	GS	0-1-2	6,659
2022–23			Promoted through play-offs.											R2	1-0-1	R1	0-0-1	GS	0-1-2	6,659
2023–24	Football League One	3	46	7	9	30	41	81	-40	30	24th of 24 Relegated	Jordan Gibson	7	R1	0-0-1	R1	0-0-1	GS	1-0-2	8,000

Notes and References

Web site: The Carlisle United Story. 21 June 2010. Carlisle United FC. 27 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080927131809/http://www.carlisleunited.premiumtv.co.uk/page/History/. 29 April 2011.
Web site: Carlisle United Reserves. Football Club History Database. 29 April 2011.
Book: One Hit Wonder: The Jimmy Glass Story. The History Press. Roger Lytollis. 1 September 2004.
Web site: Carlisle's defeat of Brentford born of Peter Murphy's desire to atone. Guardian.co.uk. Sachin Nakrani. 3 April 2011. 29 April 2011.
Web site: Carlisle FC club details . Soccerbase . 28 August 2018.
Web site: English attendances archive . EFS . 2 March 2016.
Average home attendance = for league games only
COVID-19 prevented fans from attending games